Ball and pin handling mechanism



Nov. 22, 1960 e. A. MONTOOTH 2,961,237

BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 14, 1948 7Sheets-Sheet 1 Y5 k 17126220/7 Q Geo rye/77770022015,

Nov. 22, 1960 G. A. MONTOOTH 2,961,237

BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 14, 1948 7Sheets-Sheet 2 I'Ih\ BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan.14, 1948 Nov. 22, 1960 e. A. MONTOOTH 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 136 i .I 3 p l l0 1| J1 a m J J m J IT m Q I i L "A z m am. J, JUL 7 7 E 2 T 4 #3 J1Nov. 22, 1960 G. A. MONTOOTH BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM OriginalFiled Jan. 14. 1948 Nov. 22, 1960 G. A. MONTOOTH BALL AND PIN HANDLINGMECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 14, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 22, 1960 s.A. MONTOOTH 6 BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 14,1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 I Q I 1/kZor-1 deoryeii 72207110014 Unite StatesPatent C BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISM I George A. Montooth, LongBeach, Calif., assignor to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation ofDelaware Original application Jan. 14, 1948, Ser. No. 2,205, now PatentNo. 2,729,449, dated Jan. 3, 1956. Divided and this application May 18,1955, Ser. No. 509,248

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-43) This invention relates to a pin setting machine,and more particularly to a pin setting machine having novel ball and pingathering means.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 2,205, filedJanuary 14, 1948, now Patent No.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved pin settingmachine for bowling alleys.

Another object is to provide a pin setting machine embodying new andimproved means for gathering the ball and pins from the alley and pitand for elevating them to return the ball to the bowler and the pins toa position for resetting.

Another object is to provide in a pin setting machine for use with analley bed having a pin deck and a pit at the rear thereof, ball and pingathering apparatus comprising a movable pit cushion, means for movingsaid cushion out of the way to permit said ball and pins to passthereunder and to the rear thereof, means for moving said ball and pinsto the rear of said cushion, and means behind said cushion for elevatingsaid ball and pins above said pit.

Another object of this invention is to provide ball and pin handlingapparatus comprising a ball and pin carrying wheel located in the alleypit behind the movable pit cushion, said wheel being rotatable about anaxis extending longitudinally of said pit and having around itsperiphery ball and pin engaging means, means for guiding said ball andpins into engagement with said wheel near the bottom thereof, a trackfor retaining said ball and pins in engagement with said wheel for aportion of a revolution of said wheel, means for causing said ball to beremoved from said wheel without removing pins carried by said wheel,means for removing pins from adjacent the top of said wheel, and motormeans for driving said wheel and said pin removing means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ball and pin handlingmechanism including a conveyor for transporting pins from an elevator toa magazine and releasable blocking means associated with said conveyorfor causing equal spacing between pins carried along said conveyor so asto permit proper indexing of the magazine.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. l is a side View, partly in section and partly in elevation, of apin setting machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section along the line 44- of Fig. 1 with partof the pit cushion and the pit conveyor broken away to shown underlyingstructure;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section through the machine taken at therear of the alley bed and looking ice toward the rear of said machine,with'the swinging pit cushion removed;

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of the pit with the swinging pit cushion andits associated structure removed;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section through the sorter wheel; I

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan, partly in section, of one of the ball andpin carrying paddles of the sorter wheel;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of the paddle of Fig. 8; and,

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the vertical conveyors which remove pinsfrom the sorter wheel.

While the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail a specific embodiment, with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principlesof the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to theembodiment illustrated. The scope of the inven' tion will be pointed outin the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, the machine illustrated is adapted foruse on an alley bed 50, the rear portion comprising a pin deck, saidalley having conventional gutters 51 associated therewith and having atthe rear thereof a conventional pit 52. Said machine comprises variousball and pin gathering mechanisms including a sweep and guard mechanismdesignated generally at A; a movable pit cushion which is operativelyconnected with the sweep and guard mechanism and is designated generallyat B; a conveyor system on the floor of said pit, this conveyor systembeing designated generally at C and being operative to move the ball andpins which have fallen from the pin deck into the pit to the rear ofsaid pit cushion; and a ball and pin elevating system designatedgenerally at D, this system including means for moving the ball and pinsto an elevated position behind the cushion; means for removing said ballto a ball return track; means for elevating the pins and arranging saidpins in a desired manner; and means above said pit for conveying thepins across the pit to a position above the pin deck.

Means for driving the mechanisms C and D are designated generally at E,this means also serving to provide power for indexing a rotary pinarranging magazine F to which pins are fed by the gathering means aboveset forth. From the magazine the pins are delivered to a pin settingmechanism G which is positioned directly above the pin deck of the alleybed 50 and is operable to descend through a pin pickup mechanism H toset pins on said deck. Power to operate the sweep and guard, pin settingand pin pickup mechanisms is derived from a power arrangement Icomprising a motor, a transmission and other drive connections.

Inasmuch as the machine illustrated is described in the Montooth andSchlitt Patent No. 2,705,146, granted March 29, 1955, and the operationof certain of the machine mechanisms including the magazine F and thepin setting and pickup mechanisms G and H is described in detail in theapplication of George A. Montooth, filed March 24, 1947, as Serial No.736,643, new Patent No. 2,817,529, the complete operation of the machinewill be described only briefly here to show the general coordination ofthe ball and pin gathering means with the balance of the machine.

In Fig. l the machine is shownafter it has completed a portion of itscycle after the rolling of a ball 53 which has knocked down some of thepins 54, some of the fallen pins or deadwood remaining on the pin deckand some of the fallen pins having been knocked into the pit 52. At theparticular point in the cycle illustrated the sweep and. guard A havebeen lowered to their operative position, the swinging pit cushion B hasbeen elevated to permit the passage of the ball and pins therebeneath,and the pickup mechanism H has descended and is about to pick up thestanding pins so that the alley bed may be swept clear of deadwood. Thecycle of operation of the machine may have been initiated in any one of'a number of ways, as for example by placing one or more light beams inthe path of said ball so that interruption of said light beams by theball causes actuation of a switch to start the cycle of operation; or,preferably,

in the particular machine illustrated, the cycle of operation may havebeen initiated by the weight of the ball in the pit, one or more switchpanels 52a being positioned in the pit and being operated by the weightof the ball on the conveyor 'C to start a cycle of operation. In anyevent, once started, the machine is designed to continue its cycle ofoperation to pick up the standing pins, sweep the deadwood from thealley, replace the standing pins thereon, return the ball 53 to theplayers end of the alley, and gather the pins from the pit preparatoryto placing a new set of pins on the pin deck. After a second ball isrolled the alley is swept and a new set of pins are placed in positionon the pin deck. In the event the first ball has knocked down all of thepins the pickup operation is dispensed with and the alley is swept and anew set of pins are placed in position. Should the first ball miss thepins, as by rolling down the gutter, the pins are left on the alley inreadiness for the second ball. The operation of the machine through itsvarious cycles is described in detail in the Patent No. 2,705,146, abovereferred to.

The conveyor system C on the floor of the pit comprises a pair ofendless belts 55 and 56 (see Figs. 5 and 6) extending from oppositesides of said pit and running toward the center thereof, and a thirdendless belt 57 extending longitudinally of said pit in the centerthereof and running toward the rear of said pit. Preferably .;thesebelts are tiltable to permit access to the pit floor :beneath them. Thetwo transverse belts 55 and 56 desorter wheel 60 which is rotatableabout an axis extending longitudinally of said pit, said wheel having adiameter only slightly less than the width of said pit and having aboutits periphery a plurality of recesses 61 and a plurality of paddlemembers 62 for engaging said ball and pins. As shown in Fig. 6 the track58 is curved to be concentric with the wheel, and as the wheel rotatesin a'counterclockwise direction (as the parts appear in Fig. 6) the ballis picked up in one of the recesses 61, and the pins are picked up oneby one by engagement with the paddle members 62 and are elevated abovethe pit.

Means are provided for causing said ball to be removed from said wheelafter a portion of a cycle of rotation of said wheel without removingthe pins carried by the wheel, this means comprising a'ball roll-E track67 and a pivotal extension 63 of the track 58. This extension is pivotedat 90 (Fig. and is pushed outwardly (to the right in Fig. 5) as the ballmoves up along the roll-01f track 67, and the extension 63 falls backbeneath the ball, a horizontal portion 63a providing a support for theball as it rolls from the track 67 over a sloping platform 64a and ontoa ball return track 64 which carries it back to the players end of thealley.

Guide members 63b and 63c prevent the ballfrom falling back into the pitas it moves from the sorter wheel to the return track 64.

The two rails of thetrack 67 are spaced apart a (118- tance greater thanthe width of a pin and less than the diameter of a ball to allow thepins to pass between said rails, while the ball is carried up by saidrails. The pins are carried to a position adjacent the top of the wheelwhere they are engaged between two vertically traveling belts 65 and 66(Fig. 10) and are elevated to a further point above the alley anddelivered butt end first to a transverse or crossover conveyorcomprising an endless belt 70. This belt carries the pins to a positionabove the alley bed and deposits them in the rotary magazine F. When themagazine F is loaded with a full complement of 10 pins and when the pinsetting mechanism G is empty and is in a position to receive pins, thepins are delivered from the magazine F to the pin setting mechanism, andat the completion of a bowling frame the pin setting mechanism islowered down through the pickup structure and sets a new group of pinson the pin deck.

Rotary sorter The rotary sorter wheei is shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. Thesorter is driven by an electric motor 75, this motor providing power forthe pit floor conveyor C, the rotary sorter 60, the upending belts 65and 66, the crossover belt 70, and an indexing mechanism for themagazine F. A transmission assembly 76 transmits power to the pit floorconveyor through shafting 77, and power from the transmission assemblyis delivered to the rotary conveyor through a pulley 78 and a belt 79.The main shafting of the transmission assembly 76, which is driven by apulley 80, is connected with the crossover belt 70 which in turnconnects with the indexing mechanism for the magazine F, and anotherpulley 81 drives the vertical belts 65 and 66. In the operation of themachine the motor 75 and the mechanisms driven thereby operatecontinuously.

The rotary sorter comprises a wheel rim made up of two side panels 82aand 82b, these panels being spaced apart about one and one-half inchesso that as the pins are carried around to the top of the wheel they canlie on the rim, being supported by said panels. The belt 79 is trainedabout a pulley 83 which is shown in cross section in Figs. 1 and 4, saidpulley being secured to the side panel 82a to cause the wheel to rotate.As shown best in Figs. 5 and 6, there are 8 recesses 61 in the outeredge of the wheel rim to provide pockets to carry the ball, and at therear or trailing edge of each recess a paddle member 62 extends radiallyoutward from said rim. As the wheel rotates (counterclockwise in Figs. 5and 6) the ball is engaged in one of the recesses and the pins areengaged by the paddle members adjacent other recesses, and the ball andpins are elevated above the pit, being held in engagement with the wheelby the track 58.

To elevate the ball to its return track without sliding it between thewheel and the track 58, each of the paddle members 62 is provided with aroller 86 supported between the opposite side members of the paddle onan axle pin 86a. Only one pin or one ball can be held by each of thepaddles and recesses, and consequently, as the wheel rotates, the pinsare spread out or de-bunched and the ball is separated from the pins.

Figs. 8 and 9 show the details of the preferred paddle construction. Aspointed out earlier, the roller 86 carries the ball and allows it toroll rather than slide along between the wheel and the track 58. Thesurface of the roller is concave as shown in Fig. 8 to prevent the ballfrom rolling oil. A cross bar 87 extends between the opposite walls ofeach paddle and is positioned to engage the butt end of a pin in theevent the pin is picked up by the wheel in such position, and a member83 extends outwardly beyond the outer end of the paddle walls inposition to engage the head end of the pin should the pin be picked upwith its butt end facing in the direction of rotation of the wheel.

As the rotation of the sorter wheel carries the pins upwardly around thetrack 58, said pins, being smaller in diameter than the ball, arecarried between the ball the , rolI-ofi tracks 67 and up to a positionadjacent the top of the wheel where they are engaged by the belts 65 and66 and lifted off the wheel. The ball'is rolled along the track 58 untilit is engaged by the members 67 which are located one on each side ofthe wheel and spaced far enough apart so that the pins can pass freelybetween them but the ball cannot. As the ball continues upward, thepivoted member 63- is moved back, and as the ball is elevated above thelevel of this member, the member falls back under the ball, the portion63a of the member 63 providing a rolling surface along which the ballrolls guided by rails 63b and 63c to the ball return track 64. A slopingboard is provided on each side of the return track 64 so that if twoballs are returned to the track simultaneously .by pin setting machinesin adjacen't alleys the balls will be prevented from jamming in thetrack. One of these boards 64a is shown in Fig. 6.

Preferably the rotary conveyor 68 is made in right and left-hand modelsso that themachines can be installed in pairs on adjacent alleys, thetwo conveyors delivering the ball to the same return track and thuspermitting the use of one common ball return track without necessitatingchanges in any other part of the machine. The rotary conveyor 60 isinternally supported by means of an upper pair of rollers 95a and alower pair of rollers 5b, both pairs of rollers being mounted on abracket 96 which is attached to the machine frame. The upper rollers 95aare stationary with respect to the bracket 96, while the two lowerrollers 95b are each mounted on a yoke 97, each yoke having a rightangular extension 97a. Each yoke is pivotally jointed to the bracket 96and the end of each extension 97a is pivotally connected to a guide pin98. The guide pins are slidable in brackets 99 which are fixedly mountedon the bracket 96, and a compression spring 100 surrounds each guide pin98, each spring abutting at one end against one of the brackets 99, andabutting at the other end against a collar 161 carried by the guide pin.By this means the two lower rollers 95b are spring loaded and maintain aconstant pressure on the wheel rim, thus preventing misalignment of thewheel.

Vertical pin elevator The vertical pin elevator comprises the two spacedbelts 65 and 66 as shown in Fig. 10. These belts extend downwardly to apoint opposite the top of the rotary conveyor 60 and are spaced apart adistance less than the widest diameter of a bowling pin. The shorterbelt '66 is trained over a pulley 102 which is driven clockwise as theparts appear in Fig. 10, and the belt 65 is trained 'over a pulley 103,this pulley being driven counterclockwise. Thus, the inner run of thetwo belts travels upwardly and as the rotary conveyor 60 carries a pinbetween these belts, the pin is gripped and lifted from the wheel andcarried up between the two belts. A roller 66a within the belt 66assists the belt in obtaining a firm .grip on the pin, and a roller 65awithin the belt 65 assists in discharging the pin. Obviously, since thepin is grasped by the belts only at the largest point or belly of thepin and this point is below the center of gravity of the pin, the pinhangs upside down as it travels upwardly between the belts. When thebowling pin passes the pulley 102, it is diverted by a hood 104 and thepin is caused to fall onto the transverse or crossover belt 70, the buttend of the pin leading. The crossover belt 70 carries the pins acrossthe pit to a position above the rear of the pin deck and delivers thepins to the rotary magazine F.

It sometimes happens that pins are spaced too closely together to allowthe rotary magazine F time to complete its required indexing operationso that the magazine is not ready to receive the next pin when it isdelivered by the crossover belt 76. This condition occurs when therotary sorter wheel delivers consecutive pins to the vertical pinelevator, with their butt ends in opposite directions. A pin which'isdelivered butt end first will be'lifted from assists the sorter wheelquicker than one delivered top end first; therefore the even spacingattained by the rotary sorter wheel is lost as the pins are lifted fromthe top of the wheel. In order to correct this situation I provide ashutter which isoperable to space the pins the required distance apartas the pins leave the hood 104 to travel along the crossover belt 70 sothat the magazine F has sufficient time between the arrival ofsuccessive pins to complete its indexing operation.

A shutter 210 is mounted on the hood 104, said shutter extending acrossand blocking the exit opening of said hood and being pivotal to an outof the way position. The shutter has a pair of rearwardly-extendingoppositely-disposed lever arms 211 (see Fig. 1) which are pivoted on thehood at 212, one of these arms being secured to a cable 213- whichpasses over idler sheaves and is secured to one end of an actuating arm214 (Figs. 5 and 6). The arm 214 is pivoted on a stationary part of themachine, Figs. 5 and 6 showing the arm 214 being pivotally mountedintermediate its ends on a pin 215 on a bracket extending from one railof the ball guiding track 67. The other end of the arm 214 terminatesadjacent the sorter wheel 60 and carries a cam roller 216 which isadapted to engage a plurality of cam blocks 217 equally spaced aroundthe periphery of the sorter wheel 60.

As the wheel 60 rotates, the cam blocks 217 successively engage theroller 216, causing the arm 214 to pivot about the pin 215 and pull onthe cable 213. This raises the shutter 210 away from the hood exitopening and allows a pin to pass from the hood 104. When the cam block217 passes the roller 216, the cable slacks and springs 218 return theshutter 210 to blocking position in front .of the hood exit openingwhere it is in position to block a pin from leaving the hood until theroller 216 contacts the next cam block.

Swinging pit cushion As appears in the earlier part of this description,the swinging pit cu hion B is mounted for vertical movement, saidcushion normally extending substantially entirely across the pit in thepath of the ball and pins on the conveyor C, and being elevated inoperation a sufficient distance to allow the ball and pins to passtherebeneath.

The cushion is shown in cross section in Figs. 1 and 4. Said cu hioncomprises a generally rectangular body portion having a bottom 120a, twoopposite sides 1201i and 120C, and a top 120d. The body portion isfirmly packed with stuffing material and a resilient tube 121 is securedto the body portion, said tube extending in one piece around the edgesof the two opposite sides and the bottom of the body portion andextending in a separate piece across the top of the body portion. Inorder to give the cushion weight, that portion of the tube which extendsacross the bottom of the body portion and part way up each side isfilled with suitable heavy material, as for example shot designated at121a. The entire unit is enclosed in a fabric casing 122, and thiscasing has a flap 12221 extending from the top thereof for suspendingthe cushion for vertical movement. As shown in Fig. 1, the flap 122a issecured to a roller 123. This roller is non-rotatably mounted on a shaft123a which has a pair of gears 123b pinned thereto, said gears beingadapted to be driven by a pair of racks 124 located on opposite sides ofthe alley. The racks are carried in brackets 125 mounted on the frame ofthe machine, these brackets being slotted at 12511 for the reception ofthe ends of the shaft 123a. Adjacent each of the brackets 125 a collar126 (see Fig. 2) is rotatably mounted on the shaft 123a, and to each ofthese collars is afiixed on end of one of the cables 127 and 127a. Asshown in Fig. 1, each of these cables is trained over a sheave 128 andthe other end of the cable is secured to one of the raising and loweringarms of the guard. Consequently, when the guard is lowered after eachball is rolled, the cables 7 12'1- and 127a are pulled, causing thegears 123b to move forwardly along the racks 124, turning the shaft 123aand winding the flap 122a on the roller 123 so that the cushion iselevated to permit the ball and pins to pass therebeneath. At the end ofthe sweeping operation when the guard and sweep are raised to theirinoperative position, the weight of the cushion causes the flap 122a tounwind from the roller 123 so that the cushion is lowered and the gears123b move to the rear end of the racks 124. This mechanism not onlyinsures the raising of the cushion after the rolling of each ball, butalso results in a construction wherein the cushion and the guard-sweepmechanism act as counterwcights for each other.

' Sweep and guard As appears from the early portion of this description,the sweep and guard are normally carried in a rest position above thealley bed, and after the rolling of each ball the sweep and guard arelowered to the alley bed as shown in Fig. l and at the proper time thesweep is moved rearwardly to the rear of the alley bed, sweeping pinsinto the pit. Power for these operations is derived from a motor 140 anda transmission mechanism 141 which includes means for reducing the drivespeed, as for example from 1750 rpm. to 175 rpm. The transmissionmechanism includes a double acting clutch which is operated by twosolenoids 220 and 221. This arrangement provides up and down motion forthe guard' and sweep and horizontal rearward and forward motion for thesweep, power to drive the guard and sweep being delievered from the gearmechanism 141 to the sweep by means of a chain 142.

The chain engages a sprocket 143 carried by a gear case 144. Inside thegear case is a planetary gear assembly which is fully described in theparent application, Serial No. 2,205, new Patent No. 2,729,449, andwhich drives either racks 153 or chains 158 for raising and lowering theguard and sweep and moving the sweep along the alley as fully describedin said parent application.

The sweep and guard assembly are shown in Fig. 1. The sweep comprises aboard 160 which is supported transversely across the alley by a pair ofVertical arms 161 on opposite sides of the alley. At their upper endsthe arms 161 are pivotally and slidably attached to roller brackets 162,this connection being made by means of a pivot pin 162a mounted on eachbracket and extending through a slot 161a in each of the arms 161. Thesearms are pivotally and sli-dably connected to the roller brackets 162 inorder to allow the sweep to pivot and stop its downward movement in theevent the sweep should come down on top of a pin lying on the alley orin the gutter, and thereby prevent a jam which might cause damage to themachine. The sweep is prevented from pivoting toward the players end ofthe alley by a lug 162b formed on the bracket 162.

The roller brackets 162 engage a movable track 163 by means of rollers(not shown).

The guard consists 'of a padded member 185 which is supportedtransversely across the alley by pivoted arms 1 86 on opposite sides ofthe alley, these arm being pivotally attached at their rear ends to astationary part of the machine. As shown in Fig. 3, there are sockets187 in each of the gutters. These sockets engage and hold the lower endsof the arms 186 and thus absorb part of the shock caused by the impactof a ball against the guard. By this construction it is possible tobuild this portion of the machine of lighter material and still providestrength enough to withstand the great'shock developed at the impact ofa fast-rolling l6-pound ball. Near the front end of each of the arms 186there is a joint comprising a pivot connection 188 and a partially cutout sleeve 189, this connection allowing the lower end of the arms 186to pivot upwardly only, thereby preventing a jam in the machine in theevent a pin rests under the guard as it is lowered to the alley.

At an intermediate point along the arms 186 the racks 153 are attachedby means of brackets 191.. At a point slightly above the bracket 191, aroller. 192 is attached to each rack 153, this roller engaging the sweeptrack 163 to lift the sweep track to its. tilted upper position so thatas the rack 153 is driven up and down, the guard and sweep are raisedand lowered and the entire sweep track pivots to a rest position. Thecables 127 and 127a which operate the pit cushion B are respectivelysecured to the cable clevis (not shown) which is mounted on each of thearms 186 to the rear of the bracket 191. This interconnection betweenthe guard-sweep and the pit cushion allows each of these mechanisms toact as a counterbalance for the other.

I claim:

1. Bowling ball and pin gathering apparatus for use with an alley bedhaving a pit at the rear thereof and a swinging pit cushion in said pit,comprising, a ball and pin carrying wheel located in said pit behindsaid cushion, said wheel having a diameter only slightly less than thewidth of said pit, being rotatable in a vertical plane about an axisextending longitudinally of said pit and having about its periphery aplurality of ball engaging recesses, a plurality of ball and pinengaging paddle members carried by said wheel adjacent said recesses,means. for guiding said ball and pins into engagement with the saidwheel near the bottom thereof, a track for retaining said ball and pinsin engagement with said wheel for a portion of a cycle of rotation ofsaid wheel, a roller carried by each paddle member for preventingsliding contact of said ball with the track, a pair of spaced track mem:bers adapted to be engaged only by said ball and a piv oted memberadapted to be pivoted only by said ball for causing said ball to beremoved from said wheel without removing pins carried by said wheel, afirst conveyor comprising a pair of endless belts spaced apart adistance less than the greatest diameter of a pin for removing pins fromadjacent the top of said wheel and elevating said pins above said wheel,a second conveyor extending from adjacent said first conveyor to abovesaid alley bed for carrying pins forwardly across said pit, means forspacing pins on said second conveyor, and motor means for driving saidwheel and said conveyors.

2. Bowling ball and pin gathering apparatus for. use with an alley bedhaving a pit at the rear thereof and a swinging pit cushion in said pit,comprising, a ball and pin carrying wheel located in said pit behindsaid cushion, said wheel having a diameter only slightly less than thewidth of said pit, being rotatable in a vertical plane about an axisextending longitudinally of said pit and having about its periphery aplurality of ball engaging recesses, a plurality of ball and pinengaging paddle members carried by said wheel adjacent said recesses,means for guiding said ball and pins into engagementrwith said wheelnear the bottom thereof, a track for retaining said ball and pins inengagement with said wheel for a portion of a cycle of rotation of saidwheel, a pair of spaced track members adapted to be engaged only by saidball for causing said ball to be removed from said wheel withoutremoving pins carried by said wheel, a conveyor com prising a pair ofendless belts spaced apart a distance slightly less than the greatestdiameter of a pin for removing pins from adjacent the top of said wheel,and motor means for driving said wheel and said conveyor.

3. Apparatus of the character defined in claim 2, wherein said paddlemembers each carry a roller for preventing sliding contact between saidball 'and said wheel and track.

4. Apparatus for removing bowling pins from the pit of a bowling alleyand elevating them to a pin discharge station, comprising a U-shaped pinreceiving channel having a cross sectional width and depth approximatingthe largest diameter of a bowling pin extending along 9 10 one side ofand at substantially the same level as said References Cited in the fileof this patent pit, rneans for moving bowling pins from the floor ofUNITED STATES PATENTS the pit along a substantially horizontal planedirectly 1 1916 into said U-shaped channel, and a plurality of spaced1'190'645 Hedenskoog Juy 1925 pin engaging fiights moving in a closedpath the lower 5 1524241 Hedenskoog 19 5 run of which travels along saidU-shaped channel to for- 2,015,428 Hedenskoog Sept' 3 Ward pinslengthwise along said channel, said flights be- 11 1? gg mg opera we toadvance bowling pins to said pm (118 2,622,879 y Dec. 23, 1952 chargestation.

